A cystoscopy (use of lighted instrument to look inside the bladder) may be done if you have:

Symptoms related to radiation therapy or chemotherapy

Symptoms that do not get better with treatment

Blood in the urine

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to manage your symptoms.

This may include:

Medicines to help your bladder contract and empty. These are called anticholinergic drugs. Possible side effects include slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, increased thirst, and constipation.

Muscle relaxers to reduce the strong urge to urinate or need to urinate frequently.

A medicine called pyridium to help relieve bladder pain

Analgesic medicines to help reduce pain

Anti-inflammatory medicines or the drug, Elmiron to help with symptoms

Surgery is rarely done. It may be performed if a person has symptoms that do not go away with other treatments, trouble passing urine, or blood in the urine.

Other things that may help include:

Avoiding foods and fluids that irritate the bladder. These include spicy foods and alcohol, citrus juices, and caffeine, and foods that contain them.

Performing bladder training exercises to help you schedule times to try to urinate and to delay urination at all other times. One method is to force yourself to delay urinating despite the urge to urinate in between these times. As you become better at waiting this long, slowly increase the time intervals by 15 minutes. Try to reach a goal of are urinating every 3 to 4 hours.

Pelvic muscle strengthening exercises called Kegel exercises to help relieve symptoms of urgency.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Most cases of cystitis are uncomfortable, but the symptoms most often get better over time.